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Report: Isaiah Thomas agrees to 1-year deal with Nuggets, falling well short of 'Brinks truck' demands

Jason Owens
·Staff writer
Isaiah Thomas has reportedly agreed to a one-year deal with the Denver Nuggets. (AP)
Isaiah Thomas has reportedly agreed to a one-year deal with the Denver Nuggets. (AP)

Isaiah Thomas has found his landing spot, agreeing to a one-year deal with the Denver Nuggets for the veteran’s minimum $2 million, ESPN reports.

No Brinks truck for Thomas

Two summers ago, Thomas told reporters he expected the Boston Celtics to “bring out the Brinks truck” in anticipation of a potential max deal this summer.

Last year, following a second-team All-NBA campaign, Thomas doubled down on his Brinks truck demands, calling specifically for a max deal.

“I’m a max [contract] guy, so I deserve the max,” Thomas said. “We’ve just got to continue to take care of business on the court and let the cards fall where they may. I’m happy for all the guards and all the other guys getting their money, because they deserve it, but my time’s coming. They know they’ve got to bring the Brinks truck out.”

Hip injury proved costly for Thomas

It’s an unfortunate turn of events for Thomas, who did genuinely appear headed for a massive payday after thriving with the Celtics. But it turns out that Thomas was playing through a hip injury during his All-NBA season, an injury that ended up being more significant than expected.

Boston traded Thomas to Cleveland in last summer’s disastrous Kyrie Irving deal that led to the Cavs shipping Thomas to the Los Angeles Lakers before the trade deadline. Thomas fell flat with both teams and eventually elected to have season-ending hip surgery.

Thomas is coming off of a four-year, $27 million deal he signed with the Celtics in 2014. Now, instead of looking at the neighborhood of $27 million annually, Thomas has been reduced to signing a prove-it deal for $2 million.

For the Nuggets, who only rostered one point guard in Jamal Murray prior Thursday’s deal, a $2 million flyer on Thomas seems a wise gamble.

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